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Birikantinoi
Although these champions are lightly armed and carry little in the way of armour, apart from the ubiquitous "mirror armour" of the Iberians and a Greek-style round shield, do not underestimate their valour or skills — Birikantinoi are called "the superior ones" by the Spanish and for good reason too, for they, while being lightly armoured, constitute an élite class of warriors of consummate speed and skill whose main task is to chop, hack, or stab the enemy into oblivion, and as such they have an anti-infantry bonus, making them highly lethal especially if used early on against infantry-heavy civs such as the Romans or the Suebi. Against factions with cavalry or archers, however, it is very much another story, and if you are planning on being rushed, Birikantinoi are not an ideal choice and their near-lack of armour makes them even more vulnerable to the more heavier Greek infantry should the Greek factions field enough of them. In which case, you would be better off recruiting other units instead, particularly your mercenaries from the Outpost, or your élite cavalry units from your Palace. Birikantinioi are in essence, units meant for use to counter other European-styled infantry. Because Birikantinioi are meant for infantry-on-infantry fights, one should be wary of using even units like Hypaspistai or Cohors Evocata to go after them. It is better to instead find a means of picking them off using ranged cavalry, rather than engage them in a fight which they can win. See also *Sword Levy *''Falaricati'' *''Devotio'' *''Hypaspistai '' *''Basilikoi Peltastai '' Background Although most of what we know of the Iron Age Celts of Spain has been filtered primarily through the view of their adversaries (the Greeks and the Romans), archaeological digs throughout the Iberian Peninsula have revealed a network of highly sophisticated polities or tribes inhabiting Iron Age Spain, before and up to the 2nd Punic War. Rich finds, including especially weapons, suggest a world of tribal communities who were dominated by military leaders and who were often at war with one another, as attested by Roman sources. The warrior culture of the Celtiberians was one that prized death over dishonour, understandably, the guerilla tactics of the Spanish armies frustrated the Romans to the extent that it was only with great massacre and despoilation of the country that the Romans could finally consolidate the Iberian peninsula as Roman land. Celtiberian warriors, if unable to fight, would commit suicide; this was done with a plant-based toxin that unnerved their enemies, for the muscle spasms it caused would warp the face of the dying warrior into a sinister grin. More famous, however, was the fate of the Celtiberian oppidum of Numantia: facing a Roman siege against which they could not hold out; the inhabitants chose suicide and razed their settlement, this stubborn spirit lent the Romans a new term, "Numantine", to describe resistance so staunch and so unyielding that no cheap victory could be expected by the attackers. birikantinio_cameo.png| Category:Celtiberians Category:Sword infantry Category:Unique units